Carroll Shelby - Shelby Cobra Lineup

An Overview of the Legendary Cars that Carroll Built

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The stir the Shelby Mustangs have made in the hobby over the years has been huge. Of all Mustangs, these heady beasts have the greatest impact on the marketplace and the show field--even greater than the Boss cars we peeked at last month.

What drives this desire by most--if not all--Mustang enthusiasts to lust after these sometimes hairy-chested beasts that Carroll cranked out of his Los Angeles and finally the Ionia, Michigan, plants? The answer is as varied as it would be for any Mustang, but surely it just boils down to a couple of things: first, is value. The Shelby GT350 and GT500 hold their value well. Even when the old-car market goes soft, the Shelby does well. The second reason is jazz. The Shelby has that "certain something" that stops people in their tracks at a show and makes them want to take a closer look. This is especially true where the average joe is concerned in regard to the '67-and-up GT350 and GT500. To the typical car guy, these Shelbys are markedly different from the Mustang herd.

So we are going to delve into the things that make a Shelby "Shelby," and we'll even give some values and tips on where to go if you are interested in these cars.

ShelbyThe First And The Last (Sort Of)

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The two cars on our cover were found serendipitously. We have walked down hundreds of rows of cars and never had this kind of thing happen. Our original goal was to find a nice '65 GT350 for the cover. What we got was well above our expectations. At the Mustangs Northwest Mustang Round-up sat not just the "perfect" car, but two cars that represent the beginning and the end of Shelby American's production of the Mustang from 1965 through 1970. So, we did what any red-blooded American photographer would do--we begged them to let us shoot their cars. Odd that we didn't have to beg too hard.

The '65 GT350, owned by Dave Lennartz of Brush Prairie, Washington, is none other than 003. The very first one--numero uno. So, why was it number three? Well, the car started life as the Shelby Press and PR car to promote interest in the Shelby Mustang program. It was built first, but it wasn't really serialized (outside of the 001 on the cowl for press shots). It had a number of oddities that made it unsaleable. For instance, the scoop on the hood was clay, it had the quarter-windows that would not see actual production until 1966, and the side stripes were painted on. There were other niggling details, but the aforementioned were the "majors." After these were worked out, Chuck Catwell of Shelby American serialized the car as 5S003. The configuration in which Dave shows the beast is its "as-raced condition," and believe us when we say the Shelby has the stones. For a peek at the car, check out www.mustangmonthly.com. For a breakdown of how this Shelby was equipped, see the sidebar "What They Were."

Larry McEwen of Bothell, Washington, and his '70 GT500 were nestled in right beside Dave and his GT350. Though his Shelby is not the last GT500 built, it's close enough for us. And he only misses having the highest serial number Shelby by 154 cars. That's not bad.

The car is typical for a GT500 from Shelby's last year. The Competition Orange GT500 packs a 428 Cobra Jet, four-speed, and 3.50:1 Traction-Lok rear axle. Cushy options include a fold-down rear seat, an AM/FM stereo, tinted glass, and a power antenna. The car was first bought by a woman from Wisconsin who kept the 38,428 mile jewel until 1988 when she let go of the big-block beast. From there it changed hands twice before landing in Larry's garage. "I get a tremendous amount of support from my family," Larry says. "My wife, Kristi, has helped support the hobby financially as well by giving up her garage space." You can also see Larry's GT500 wheeling past our tiny camera at www.mustangmonthly.com.

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Hertz So GoodStarting in 1966, Shelby got the kind of contract that most small manufacturers would have killed for. Peyton Cramer, Shelby American general manager, was the man behind the plan. That plan was for Hertz to buy cars from Shelby. When all was said and done, Shelby signed on the dotted line with Hertz rental car agency to produce 1,000 GT350s for the Sports Car Club. Of course, that wasn't the end. Many folks don't realize that after 1967, Hertz continued to buy Shelby GT350s and even GT500s for the rest of the Shelby American life cycle. These cars are not as easy to identify on the surface because they are pulled from regular production.

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CompetitionShelby American actually "backward engineered" the street version of the '65 GT350 from the competition model. What was really cool about the Competition model (often referred to as the "R" model by hobbyists) was that it was the only time, until 1993, that Ford had offered a full road-race car to the general buying public. Prior to that, the only type of race car that had been built was the Fairlane Thunderbolt.

The Competition model had been developed to compete in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing and held its own very well in the fray. There were 34 Competition models built and raced by the "public," and two prototype cars were raced by the factory team. Below is a list of the special items on the Comp cars to give you an idea of how much Shelby did or didn't tone down the street car.

ShelbyWhat They WhereThe standard models are listed below. In this section you will find none of the one-offs or the competition models. This list represents the "average" Shelby for each year of production as well as total production for that year.

One Of OnesShelby American built a few prototypes that managed to sneak out into the marketplace. And it's stunning how many of them there are still lurking around. Below is the short list of the cars we know about. Obviously there are others, many of which are in the Shelby American World Registry. We'll list the items that make these cars special; otherwise they are normal Shelbys--if any Shelby can be called normal. We will note only the changes from the factory original Shelbys.

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Super Snake '67 GT500The baddest Shelby ever built? Probably. But at a cool $7,500 in 1967 ($38,565 in today's market) the price kept many potential buyers from the idea of it, so the 427-powered beast never saw production. Why? Because the buyer could get a 427 Cobra for the same price. So the Super Snake, a Mustang capable of sustained speeds of 140 mph, died on the vine.

Little RedThe Project dubbed Little Red (due to its Candyapple Red topcoat) was a Shelby experiment that delved into the what-ifs of producing a hardtop. This car passed through many hands, including a stint in the garage of Bill Cosby. Sporting Connolly leather and more varied engine packages than you can shake a stick at, the GT500 went from mild to wild before the hardtop GT500 was eventually shelved.

Even so, it was picked up by Ford as the GT/CS for 1968. Though the GT/CS had some of the Shelby goodies (decklid, fender extensions, taillight panel, and sidescoops) the car was not a Shelby.

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GT350SThe folks at Shelby wanted to see if the Paxton supercharger was feasible as a regular production car. One prototype was produced with a special GT350S badging. However, Shelby decided to offer the supercharger as an option rather than deal with the warranty headaches of regular production.

It's A DragIn 1965 and 1966, Shelby built eight drag cars to compete on the old straight-line, quarter-mile battlefield. Although Shelby was not known for this, some within the company were hot for the idea, and Max Muhleman helped get the program off the ground.

The cars were basically stock GT350s, with some minor mods made in consideration of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and for better straight-line performance. Below is a list of the items changed or added to the cars.

Coming In FirstIt's interesting that Carroll and Company really helped to propel the Mustang to a number of firsts. And it's interesting how many things Ford didn't really get around to until the mid-'80s. These firsts by Shelby American paved the way in many respects for later improvements to the Mustang. Below are the most obvious firsts.

* First to use headers on a Mustang. Ford wouldn't get there until 1985. * First supercharged Mustang. Ford didn't supercharge until 2003. Saleen didn't supercharge until 1995. * First Mustang to use the 15-inch wheel as a standard part of the car. Ford didn't get there until 1985. * First Mustang to use traction bars. Ford started to use a traction-control device in 1968 but truly didn't have a damping device until 1985. * First to use lightweight components (fiberglass) on the cars. Ford only recently went to lighter-weight materials for the Mustang's hood. * First to break the 390ci barrier in 1967 with the 428 Police Interceptor. Ford followed suit in 1968 with the 428 Cobra Jet. * First (and only) Mustang to have factory dual quads. In 1967 the GT500 got two 600-cfm Holleys.

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So BlueAs Shelby began to get more and more into the mainstream of producing cars that were, for lack of a better term, "softer," they experimented with ideas that had very little to do with performance. One such idea was to offer interiors in other colors than black. Two prototypes were built with Blue interiors.

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The End. . .AlmostAt the end of the 1969 model year, Shelby still had cars left. This was due to the short production cycle that, for Shelby, had been only nine months in 1969. Therefore, there were still cars coming off the assembly line as the model year closed out. These cars were updated to be '70 models--right down to their serial numbers. The Feds (as in the Federal Bureau of Investigation) had to come in and watch as all the numbers were changed. The '70 is nothing more than a '69 Shelby with minor updates. The updates are listed below.

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The End (Really) Of course, we couldn't have done this story without the help of some great people--namely the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC). Their book, The Shelby American World Registry is the best and most complete source of information on the Shelby ever produced. If you're in the market for a Shelby (Mustang or Cobra), we recommend you pick this up before buying. The hefty tome weighs in at 9 pounds and is worth the $125 price--especially when you look at the prices going for Shelbys. There is one caveat: The book is out of print, but SAAC should have new copies available by the time you read this. If you are interested, you can reach them for a copy at: www.saac.com or via mail at: Shelby American Automobile Club, P.O. Box 788 Sharon, CT 06069.